Climber Andy Tyson Killed in Plane Crash

4/11/15 - Four men were killed in a plane crash Friday in northern Idaho, and the victims included well-known climber Andy Tyson as well as A.J. Linnell and Rusty Cheney, two employees of Creative Energies, Tyson’s renewable-energy business. The small plane’s pilot, who has not been named, also was killed.

Tyson, 45, lived in Victor, Idaho, with his wife, Molly Loomis, a climber, writer, guide, and Grand Teton SAR-team member. In addition to his solar-energy business, Tyson worked for many years as a climbing guide and expedition leader, leading trips with NOLS, Exum, Alpine Ascents, and Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions. Recent expeditions included a trip to the Genyen Massif in China, where he and his wife did the first ascents of a couple of peaks, and to Myanmar, in 2013, when he led an American-Burmese team that did the first ascent of Gamlang Razi, one of the highest peaks in Southeast Asia.